Member- Jul 18, 2015
- 196
- Tinnitus Since
- 2015
- Cause of Tinnitus
- not sure, but probably acoustic trauma
Stoic Philosophy and Tinnitus (for Anybody Interested in)
- Thread starter wishingluck
- Start date
- Apr 21, 2016
- 75
- Tinnitus Since
- 12/2014 (mild), 03/15 (severe)
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Head trauma, then acoustic trauma, then more acoustic trauma
Thank you! This is wonderful. Last year, at what might have been my lowest point, I picked up a dodgy-looking "Self-help with the Stoics!" book. It was just what I needed at a time when ploughing through Epictetus or Seneca wasn't an option. Stoic philosophy has comforted me, sharpened my thinking and given me tools to cope.
- Jul 18, 2015
- 196
- Tinnitus Since
- 2015
- Cause of Tinnitus
- not sure, but probably acoustic trauma
IreneO,
Stoic philosophy is the only one thing that has given me any worthwhile help. Just like the author in the above post wrote. Have you read the Enchiridion? You must. It's a very short and easy to read manual, I have it in multiple language and formats (audiobooks, ebooks).
Seneca is great too. Check out 'The brevity of life'. He wrote a lot, about all the things that people fear the most.
You know, I -hated- the idea of philosophy. Because it's generally presented as verbose tomes read by academics. In my opinion, these are NOT philosophers. Philosophy isn't for studying at college, is for living in life.
The trick is to find material by Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca (three of the major Stoicists), that is material -as easy- as possible to read, absorb, and digest. Audiobooks are a great solution, as you don't need to be strapped to a book to learn lots of great stuff.
There are innumerable editions of any of these master's works, and I often find that I detest one edition of a work, and I love a different edition of another work. Just because it's presented by a different personality.
In a sense, I have been lucky as I have found 3 or 4 truly powerful audiobooks versions of Seneca's works, but they are not in English.
I must say that after checking many audiobooks versions in English, I only found one that I truly, truly like, which is this version of the Enchiridion (highly recommended, and in the public domain):
I usually prefer to buy my audiobooks, as they are usually spoken by professional speakers, however the free one above, in my opinion, is excellent. You can download the audiobook for free here
https://librivox.org/the-enchiridion-by-epictetus-tr-elizabeth-carter/
I listen to this every night as I fall asleep.
I read and learn a little everyday, so that by the time I will have to face ill luck, illness, or death, my mind will have been fortified, and I will not be afraid of these things.
Which, as Epictetus said, are not bad, (or good) things. They are just things that happen, and can happen to anybody.
This last point was very difficult for me to truly understand, but once I did, I never looked back.
Another great source, is the samurai Musashi. This is a great quote of his:
''Accept everything that happens in your life. Everything. The way it is. Never regret anything in your life. ''.
Not sure why, but this has been extremely powerful for me.
All the above did 30 times more for me than any doctors, audiologists, psychologists, etc etc.
Although I learned to accept those too. Really, no one is to blame for my misfortune. I don't even expect anymore that people understand how I feel or whatever.
And I am thankful for the few good , but truly special, things that happened in my life in the past. They are no longer there, but I am still thankful for them. I know for certain that some other people haven't been as lucky, which saddens me.
Keep strengthening your mind. As these philosophers taught, this is the only one thing we truly have any control over
Stoic philosophy is the only one thing that has given me any worthwhile help. Just like the author in the above post wrote. Have you read the Enchiridion? You must. It's a very short and easy to read manual, I have it in multiple language and formats (audiobooks, ebooks).
Seneca is great too. Check out 'The brevity of life'. He wrote a lot, about all the things that people fear the most.
You know, I -hated- the idea of philosophy. Because it's generally presented as verbose tomes read by academics. In my opinion, these are NOT philosophers. Philosophy isn't for studying at college, is for living in life.
The trick is to find material by Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca (three of the major Stoicists), that is material -as easy- as possible to read, absorb, and digest. Audiobooks are a great solution, as you don't need to be strapped to a book to learn lots of great stuff.
There are innumerable editions of any of these master's works, and I often find that I detest one edition of a work, and I love a different edition of another work. Just because it's presented by a different personality.
In a sense, I have been lucky as I have found 3 or 4 truly powerful audiobooks versions of Seneca's works, but they are not in English.
I must say that after checking many audiobooks versions in English, I only found one that I truly, truly like, which is this version of the Enchiridion (highly recommended, and in the public domain):
I usually prefer to buy my audiobooks, as they are usually spoken by professional speakers, however the free one above, in my opinion, is excellent. You can download the audiobook for free here
https://librivox.org/the-enchiridion-by-epictetus-tr-elizabeth-carter/
I listen to this every night as I fall asleep.
I read and learn a little everyday, so that by the time I will have to face ill luck, illness, or death, my mind will have been fortified, and I will not be afraid of these things.
Which, as Epictetus said, are not bad, (or good) things. They are just things that happen, and can happen to anybody.
This last point was very difficult for me to truly understand, but once I did, I never looked back.
Another great source, is the samurai Musashi. This is a great quote of his:
''Accept everything that happens in your life. Everything. The way it is. Never regret anything in your life. ''.
Not sure why, but this has been extremely powerful for me.
All the above did 30 times more for me than any doctors, audiologists, psychologists, etc etc.
Although I learned to accept those too. Really, no one is to blame for my misfortune. I don't even expect anymore that people understand how I feel or whatever.
And I am thankful for the few good , but truly special, things that happened in my life in the past. They are no longer there, but I am still thankful for them. I know for certain that some other people haven't been as lucky, which saddens me.
Keep strengthening your mind. As these philosophers taught, this is the only one thing we truly have any control over
- Apr 21, 2016
- 75
- Tinnitus Since
- 12/2014 (mild), 03/15 (severe)
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Head trauma, then acoustic trauma, then more acoustic trauma
@wishingluck Thanks so much for the recommendations - I will download the Enchiridion audiobook. Stoicism is definitely worth exploring more .... I enjoyed reading about what it means for you. It is wonderful that we can access this wisdom from so long ago, and know that it's every bit as relevant today. And it's practical. It works.
Early on, in my "why did this happen to me?" moments, one thought that would pop into my head was "The universe isn't against you - the universe doesn't give a shit". Sweary and rudimentary Stoicism, but it helped me a lot.
Early on, in my "why did this happen to me?" moments, one thought that would pop into my head was "The universe isn't against you - the universe doesn't give a shit". Sweary and rudimentary Stoicism, but it helped me a lot.
- Jul 18, 2015
- 196
- Tinnitus Since
- 2015
- Cause of Tinnitus
- not sure, but probably acoustic trauma
oh yeah, I love that one, 'the universe doesn't give a shit' ! Believe it or not, I have said it innumerable times to myself too. What's strange is that I actually mixed everything I learned about the cosmo in documentaries, with everything I learned from Stoic philosophy. For example, there are things such as supernovas, or black holes, right? Very 'strange' things'. But there they are. The universe never gave a shit, everything dies and nothing lasts.
Bad thing? Good thing? Neither good, nor bad. It's just the way things are. All I concern myself about is how I adapt to it, within the brevity of life.
Bad thing? Good thing? Neither good, nor bad. It's just the way things are. All I concern myself about is how I adapt to it, within the brevity of life.
- Apr 21, 2016
- 75
- Tinnitus Since
- 12/2014 (mild), 03/15 (severe)
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Head trauma, then acoustic trauma, then more acoustic trauma
Log in or register to get the full forum benefits!
Similar threads
